Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC)
Section 33 and Order XX CPC: Judgment and Decree
A trial ends in two documents, and the Code keeps them apart. The judgment is the judge's statement of the grounds of the decision; the decree is the formal expression of the adjudication, and it is the decree that is executed and appealed against. Section 33 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 provides that the court shall, after the case has been heard, pronounce judgment, and on such judgment a decree shall follow. Order XX then regulates how a judgment is pronounced, what it must contain, how the decree is drawn up, and the special decrees required in six classes of suit. These notes cover the whole ground.
From judgment to decree, and the six classes of suit that begin with a preliminary decree
1. Section 33: Judgment and Decree
§ Section 33, CPC 1908 The Court, after the case has been heard, shall pronounce judgment, and on such judgment a decree shall follow. |
The section states a sequence that the rest of the Order works out: hearing, then judgment, then decree. Two definitions in Section 2 complete it. A judgment under Section 2(9) is the statement given by the judge on the grounds of a decree or order, that is, the reasoning. A decree under Section 2(2) is the formal expression of an adjudication which conclusively determines the rights of the parties, that is, the result. It follows that a judgment is not executable and a decree carries no reasons; the appeal lies against the decree, though it is the judgment that is examined to see whether the decree is right.
2. Pronouncement of Judgment: Rules 1 to 3
§ Order XX Rule 1, CPC 1908 (in substance) (1) The Court, after the case has been heard, shall pronounce judgment in an open Court, either at once or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, and when the judgment is to be pronounced on some future day, the Court shall fix a day for that purpose of which due notice shall be given to the parties or their pleaders: Provided that where the judgment is not pronounced at once, every endeavour shall be made by the Court to pronounce the judgment within thirty days from the date on which the hearing of the case was concluded, but where it is not practicable so to do on the ground of the exceptional and extraordinary circumstances of the case, the Court shall fix a future day for the pronouncement of the judgment, and such day shall not ordinarily be a day beyond sixty days from the date on which the hearing of the case was concluded, and due notice of the day so fixed shall be given to the parties or their pleaders. |
i. Open court. The judgment is pronounced in open court, either at once or as soon thereafter as practicable, with notice of the day fixed.
ii. Thirty and sixty days. The proviso, inserted by the Amendment Act of 2002, requires every endeavour to pronounce judgment within thirty days of the conclusion of hearing, and fixes sixty days as the outer limit except in exceptional and extraordinary circumstances. In commercial suits the corresponding requirement is ninety days from the conclusion of arguments.
iii. Rule 2: judgment by a successor judge. A judge may pronounce a judgment written but not pronounced by his predecessor.
iv. Rule 3: dating and signing. The judgment shall be dated and signed by the judge in open court at the time of pronouncing it, and, once signed, shall not afterwards be altered or added to, save as provided by Section 152 for clerical or arithmetical mistakes, or on review under Section 114.
3. Contents of a Judgment: Rules 4 and 5
§ Order XX Rules 4 and 5, CPC 1908 Rule 4(1). Judgments of a Court of Small Causes need not contain more than the points for determination and the decision thereon. Rule 4(2). Judgments of other Courts shall contain a concise statement of the case, the points for determination, the decision thereon, and the reasons for such decision. Rule 5. In suits in which issues have been framed, the Court shall state its finding or decision, with the reasons therefor, upon each separate issue, unless the finding upon any one or more of the issues is sufficient for the decision of the suit. |
§ Why reasons are the heart of a judgment Rule 4(2) makes reasons an essential content of every judgment other than one of a Court of Small Causes. The requirement serves three purposes, and naming them earns marks. It disciplines the decision: a judge who must give reasons must confront the evidence and the arguments rather than announce a conclusion. It informs the losing party why he lost, which is the minimum that natural justice requires of an adjudication. It enables appellate review: an appellate court can test a decision only against the reasons given for it, which is why Rule 5 requires a finding with reasons on each separate issue, so that no issue is left unanswered if the matter goes further. |
4. Preparation of the Decree: Rules 6, 6A, 6B and 7
i. Rule 6(1): contents. The decree shall agree with the judgment; it shall contain the number of the suit, the names and descriptions of the parties, their registered addresses, particulars of the claim, and shall specify clearly the relief granted or other determination of the suit.
ii. Rule 6(2): costs. The decree shall state the amount of costs incurred in the suit and by whom, or out of what property and in what proportions, they are to be paid.
iii. Rule 6A: preparation of the decree. Every endeavour shall be made to ensure that the decree is drawn up as expeditiously as possible and, in any case, within fifteen days from the date on which the judgment is pronounced; and where the decree is not drawn up within that time, an appeal may be preferred against the judgment without filing a copy of the decree, which shall then be treated as the decree for the purposes of the appeal.
iv. Rule 6B: copies of the judgment. Where a judgment is pronounced, copies shall be made available to the parties on application and on payment of the charges.
v. Rule 7: date of the decree. The decree shall bear the date on which the judgment was pronounced, and, when the judge has satisfied himself that the decree has been drawn up in accordance with the judgment, he shall sign it.
§ The decree must follow the judgment Rule 6(1) requires the decree to agree with the judgment, and Rule 7 requires the judge to satisfy himself of that before signing. The rule matters because it is the decree that is executed: a decree that grants more or other than the judgment awarded is to that extent without foundation. Where the two diverge, the remedy is Section 152, under which clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgments, decrees or orders, or errors arising from any accidental slip or omission, may at any time be corrected by the court on its own motion or on the application of a party. Rule 6A is the practical safeguard for a litigant whose decree is delayed: after fifteen days he may appeal against the judgment itself, without waiting for the decree to be drawn up. |
5. Preliminary and Final Decrees
By the Explanation to Section 2(2), a decree is preliminary where further proceedings have to be taken before the suit can be completely disposed of; it is final when the adjudication completely disposes of the suit; and it may be partly preliminary and partly final. Order XX then prescribes preliminary decrees in six classes of suit, examined below. Three settled propositions complete the picture: a final decree must conform to the preliminary decree and cannot go behind it, the preliminary decree being binding unless set aside in appeal; there may be more than one final decree in a suit, as in a partition where separate final decrees are drawn for different properties, a point settled in Shankar Balwant Lokhande v. Chandrakant Shankar Lokhande, (1995) 3 SCC 413; and a court may pass more than one preliminary decree where events after the first require shares to be re-apportioned, as Phoolchand v. Gopal Lal, AIR 1967 SC 1470 holds.
6. The Special Decrees under Order XX
Rule | Class of suit | What the decree does |
|---|---|---|
Rule 12 | Possession and mesne profits | Decrees possession, and directs an inquiry into mesne profits or a final decree after inquiry; final as to possession and preliminary as to profits |
Rule 12A | Specific performance of a contract for the sale or lease of immovable property | Specifies the period within which the purchase money or other sum is to be paid by the purchaser or lessee |
Rule 13 | Administration suits | Orders the accounts and inquiries into the estate to be taken, and provides for the application of the assets; the preliminary decree precedes the final adjustment |
Rule 14 | Pre-emption suits | Specifies the purchase money, the day for its payment, and the consequences of payment or default |
Rule 15 | Dissolution of partnership | Declares the proportionate shares of the partners, fixes the day on which the partnership stands dissolved, and directs the accounts and other acts necessary for winding up |
Rule 16 | Accounts between principal and agent | Directs the accounts to be taken, and gives special directions on the mode of taking them, before the balance is decreed |
Rule 18 | Partition of property or separate possession of a share | Declares the rights and shares of the parties by a preliminary decree, and, where a partition or separation cannot be conveniently made at once, directs a final decree to allot the shares |
§ The pattern behind the six Each of these is a suit in which the rights can be declared before the arithmetic can be done. The court first decides who is entitled to what, and only then takes the accounts, makes the inquiry or effects the division that the declaration makes possible. That is why these are the classic homes of the preliminary decree: a decree that conclusively determines rights but leaves further proceedings before the suit can be completely disposed of, within the Explanation to Section 2(2). The corollary for execution is that it is ordinarily the final decree that is executed. In a partition suit the Supreme Court has held that the decree becomes executable when the final decree engrossed on stamped paper is drawn: Shankar Balwant Lokhande. |
7. Judgment Compared with Decree
Basis | Judgment, Section 2(9) | Decree, Section 2(2) |
|---|---|---|
Meaning | The statement given by the judge on the grounds of a decree or order | The formal expression of an adjudication conclusively determining the rights of the parties |
Content | Concise statement of the case, points for determination, decision and reasons: Order XX Rule 4(2) | The relief granted, particulars of the claim and parties, and costs: Order XX Rule 6 |
Sequence | Pronounced first, dated and signed in open court | Follows the judgment, must agree with it, and bears the date of the judgment |
Execution | Not executable | Executed under Sections 36 to 74 and Order XXI |
Appeal | Not itself appealed, but examined to test the decree; may be appealed where the decree is not drawn up in fifteen days (Rule 6A) | The subject of the appeal under Section 96 |
Alteration | Once signed, not to be altered except under Section 152 or on review | Corrected under Section 152 where it does not accord with the judgment |
8. Landmark Points on Judgment and Decree
- Section 33 with Order XX Rules 1, 3 and 7. Hearing, then judgment pronounced in open court and signed, then a decree agreeing with it and bearing its date.
- Order XX Rule 4(2) and Rule 5. A judgment must state the case, the points, the decision and the reasons, and must record a finding with reasons on each separate issue unless one issue disposes of the suit.
- Order XX Rule 6A. The decree is to be drawn up within fifteen days; where it is not, an appeal may be preferred against the judgment without a copy of the decree.
- Shankar Balwant Lokhande v. Chandrakant Shankar Lokhande, (1995) 3 SCC 413. A partition decree is executable when the final decree engrossed on stamped paper is drawn; more than one final decree is possible.
- Phoolchand v. Gopal Lal, AIR 1967 SC 1470. More than one preliminary decree may be passed where later events require shares to be re-apportioned.
- Section 152. Clerical or arithmetical mistakes, and errors from accidental slip or omission, may be corrected at any time.
9. Frequently Asked Questions
What does Section 33 of the CPC provide?
That the court, after the case has been heard, shall pronounce judgment, and on such judgment a decree shall follow. It fixes the sequence of hearing, judgment and decree that Order XX then works out in detail.
Within what time must a judgment be pronounced?
Every endeavour must be made to pronounce it within thirty days of the conclusion of the hearing, and, where that is impracticable on the ground of exceptional and extraordinary circumstances, on a day not ordinarily beyond sixty days, under the proviso to Order XX Rule 1. In commercial suits judgment is to be pronounced within ninety days of the conclusion of arguments.
What must a judgment contain?
Under Order XX Rule 4(2), a concise statement of the case, the points for determination, the decision on those points, and the reasons for the decision. A judgment of a Court of Small Causes need contain only the points for determination and the decision. By Rule 5, where issues have been framed, the court must state its finding with reasons on each separate issue.
Must the decree agree with the judgment?
Yes. Order XX Rule 6(1) requires the decree to agree with the judgment, and Rule 7 requires the judge to satisfy himself of that before signing. Where they diverge, the remedy is correction under Section 152.
What date does a decree bear?
The date on which the judgment was pronounced, under Order XX Rule 7, whenever the decree is actually drawn up. Limitation for appeal and for execution is computed accordingly.
What happens if the decree is not drawn up promptly?
Order XX Rule 6A requires every endeavour to draw it up within fifteen days of the judgment, and provides that where it is not drawn up within that time, an appeal may be preferred against the judgment without filing a copy of the decree, the judgment then being treated as the decree for the purposes of the appeal.
In which suits does Order XX require a preliminary decree?
Chiefly in suits for possession with mesne profits (Rule 12), administration (Rule 13), pre-emption (Rule 14), dissolution of partnership (Rule 15), accounts between principal and agent (Rule 16), and partition or separate possession of a share (Rule 18). In each, rights are declared first and further proceedings follow.
10. Related Topics in This CPC Series
- Decree in a Suit for Possession and Mesne Profits
- Decree in an Administration Suit
- Decree in a Pre-emption Suit
- Important Definitions under Section 2 CPC